The Roberson family needs your help

Please read and share the story of our dear family friend, Wes Roberson. He was diagnosed with cancer this summer, and with mounting medical bills and travel expenses, his family is struggling to keep afloat. We appreciate any help you can afford! Thank you so much.

Wes has been a good friend of my dad’s for almost 40 years. They’ve worked together, shared countless adventures and, after he helped get my parents together, Wes has been part of our family. He watched us grow up and I remember having so much fun with him as a little girl, long before he met his wife and had two amazing boys of his own. He’s always been kind, fun-loving and a devoted friend, husband and father.  


Wes started his career as a power lineman in California over 25 years ago, which has taken him all over the Midwest, including to Las Vegas, NV, where he met his wife Stacey on the job in 2002. They fell in love building power lines together, and were married in 2004. Eventually they moved to Iowa, where Wes is now an Apprentice Coordinator at MoValley Line Constuctors. Along the way, they were surprised and overjoyed to bring Cannon and Kyle into the world, making them a happy, close-knit family of four. Wes enjoys hunting and is an avid outdoorsman, sharing his joy of camping, fishing and boating with his family. He also coaches his sons’ shooting sports and is a board member and coach for the Indianola Shooting Team. 




This year, Wes and Cannon travelled around the country together as Cannon competed in regional trap events, earning the 6th spot on the ATA All American Sub-Junior first team. Wes was there to coach and encourage his son at every meet along the way. It was while competing in Kentucky in July that Cannon realized something was wrong with his dad. Suddenly, he was disoriented and not at all himself, scaring Cannon into convincing his dad to go to the emergency room. 

After a battery of testing hundreds of miles from home, Wes was diagnosed with central nervous system lymphoma, a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which cancer tissue forms in the brain and/or spinal cord. His symptoms were the result of an inoperable tumor between the two hemispheres of his brain, and made it impossible for him to travel home immediately. After a week in the hospital in Kentucky, they made the precarious decision to transport Wes back home to Iowa to continue treatment. Because of the location of the tumor, doctors feel removing it is too risky, opting to shrink it’s size through chemotherapy. The good news is the treatments have been successful so far. Unfortunately, the chemo has ravaged Wes’ kidneys, forcing him to stay longer in the hospital and depleting his chances of further treatment, in addition to the risk of needing a transplant.

As of today, treatments have shrunk the tumor considerably, and there’s a 60% chance it won’t return. Wes' doctors have highly recommended a clinical trial for a bone marrow transplant using his stem cells, which they feel will increase his odds to 80%. The Roberson’s are hopeful but still waiting for approval, heading next to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to see if Wes is a good candidate. If approved, the treatment will be well over $100,000, and may not be covered by insurance. 

The Roberson’s have paid thousands of dollars in medical bills from Wes’ hospital stay in Kentucky, as well as travel expenses to Iowa City for ongoing treatment. Wes has spent 40 days in the hospital so far, and they don’t yet know the extent of cost for his ongoing care. With Wes needing to travel for treatments and his extended hospital stays, the family is overwhelmed not only with his illness, but with keeping the household going. Your donations will help ease the burden of mounting medical bills and travel expenses for Wes, Stacey, Kyle and Cannon. 

Thank you again for sharing and donating, from the bottom of our hearts.